Moscow ready to help save Iran nuclear deal: Russian FM

Russia is ready to contribute to preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, which is being buried by Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"We will be ready to think about how to find a way out of the crisis around the agreement, which would suit, first of all, Iran, as this is its issue, and be acceptable to all other participants of the JCPOA," Lavrov said at a press conference after talks with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The agreement, under which Tehran curbed its uranium enrichment capacity to win sanctions relief in return, was inked by Iran with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States in 2015.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced pulling Washington out of the deal last year and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. In response, Iran recently dropped parts of its obligations under the agreement.

Lavrov said that Russia would propose that the United States and the European Union return to the full implementation of their obligations under the JCPOA, and then Iran would restore its compliance.

This, according to Lavrov, may be "the perfect solution and the perfect way out of the current situation."

However, if the Western partners are not ready to confirm their respect for international law and the reached agreement, then probably the JCPOA should be recognized as "reposed in the Lord," Lavrov said.

In this case, no obligations will bind anyone and this can lead to serious negative consequences for the entire region and international relations as a whole, he warned.

Iran has honored its obligations, but the United States officially abandoned the agreement and the Europeans also refused to implement many of their obligations, Zarif said at the press conference.

The steps Iran has taken in the last nine months were carried out within the framework of the clauses of the JCPOA in response to the violations by other participants, said the Iranian foreign minister.